Disturbing Documentaries You Should Watch

[@ZelcherProductions]

If you’re wondering why a few of these segments lack ending clips it’s because they were copyright claimed and I didn’t bother fighting them since I already have a strike on my channel. If you want to see the unedited version of this video, it’s uploaded over on Patreon. Everything is unlocked at just $1. Let me know if you’d like to see more of this and recommend some docs for the possible next episode in this series. Thanks, take care y’all.

[@harmionaniki]

I recommend The Cove, it's way worse and more hearthwrenchcing than Balckfish (both are great btw)

[@lilomartino9068]

i seriously can’t believe you’re not going viral with the amount of effort you put into your videos. i genuinely enjoy them and am always excited to watch each one that is put out. i hope others can say the same.

[@ZelcherProductions]

Thank you, that means a lot to me!! It’s comments like these that motivate me to continue making the stuff that I do

[@gaelatriano5996]

I agree. But whether you go viral: whether you remain at a decent amount of recognition. Ur still a rat from a rat race. You may be imperfect, but as long as you do what says you and not others, then you're a winner.

[@darkjapan]

Capturing the Friedmans. Director Andrew Jarecki was initially making a short film about children's birthday party clowns in New York city. During his research, he discovered that one of the clowns had a brother and father who were being accused of child sex abuse. The film is constructed from many hours of home family movies. Its one of the most disturbing documentaries I've ever seen.

[@spinhozag.3972]

Hey, I have recommendation! It's a brazilian movie called 'twenty years later' and it's about the production of a cancelled film (made by the director of the doc) that was based in real events. Those events being the assassination of a worker who protested. The cancelled film was acted by actual people who lived through the event. The film was cancelled by the dictatorship that was happening in the time because of it's leftwing political implications. And the doc explores the effect of the dictatorship in these peoples lives.

[@ZelcherProductions]

Wow, that’s going on my watchlist immediately. Thanks 👍

[@spinhozag.3972]

@@ZelcherProductions you are welcome

[@honeybee1256]

I really recommend Dark Side of the Ring. It’s a really well produced Vice documentary series about some of the darker parts of the Wrestling industry.

[@SuiGenerisMan]

This is a joke, right? FYI: "Well produced" is a little bit of an indicator that you're not watching an actual documentary. Documentaries have many categories onto themselves, Thin Blue Line is an example of journalistic documentary filmmaking, and Ken Burns Civil War is a well-produced historical documentary that presents extensive research. There's a very, very, big difference between a news magazine TV show about pretend wrestling featuring recreations, and documentary filmmaking that asks & answers questions. Sure Dark Side can be entertaining, but it's not exactly sophisticated or educational.

[@holycow217movies8]

Three Identical Strangers is probably the most harrowing viewing experience I can think of (also Trigger Warning it deals with suicide)

[@1SpicyMeataball]

Of course the guy with rainbow in his avatar would unironically use trigger warning.

[@holycow217movies8]

@@1SpicyMeataball I meant triggered in the mental health way as to not trigger a depressive episode or an anxiety attack, not triggered as in the way you probably get when a woman has an opinion.

[@slippymudman]

Orozco the Embalmer is a particularly disturbing and fascinating documentary

[@ZelcherProductions]

Oh yeah I had heard of this film before but somehow forgot to check it out for this video lol. Will def give it a watch if I make another video like this.

[@barretthoven]

certified classic

[@ryanmcnulty9851]

This is a great list. Watching The Act of Killing changed my mind about documentaries being boring. I'd recommend watching The Look of Silence, Oppenheimer's follow-up doc- after the first film, he was banned from Indonesia, but he snuck back to interview families of the victims of the Indonesian genocide for a follow-up from the opposite perspective.

[@dawa_-]

I like this format a lot, it reminds me of yms’s top 10 lists There’s just something so informative and entertaining about listening to a intelligent person describing why they liked a film so much and you get some new movies to add to your list!

[@LC-ng7hw]

Just got back from watching Dear Zachary and all I have to say is: how dare you (this was one of the most touching memorials I have ever seen but I was truly not prepared for the twist. I could feel my heart sink. Beware to anyone who watches this without any spoilers.)

[@gustavvaip1600]

The Mark of Cain (2000) - doc about russian prisons in the 90s/2000s

[@mandobrownie]

Great video, as always; Maybe another doc that'd fit on the list is Grizzley Man (2005 dir. Werner Herzog)

[@ZelcherProductions]

Yeah I probably should've mentioned it in the honorable mentions category, ill have to remember for the next time.

[@glizzygoblin6444]

The Act Of Killing is an insane documentary, i'd recommend it just for the way they talk about their crimes like it's the most normal thing. The men in the documentary each have a different approach and coping mechanisms to deal with the weight of their actions. Plus there's a bunch of surreal and goofy scenes in between recounts of murders or other fun stuff. It's pretty long for something this disturbing tho

[@JoshMaxPower]

This is unbelievable, thanks for posting. 🙏

[@aedanginty4373]

I think what makes Titticus Follies even sadder is when you realize that the State of Massachusetts won a legal case in which the filmmakers couldn't even show the film to the public and could only be screened to doctors because the state was worried about their image. It's insanely fucked up.

[@Markoman98]

By now a channel of this quality should have at least 100k subs... oh well let's hope you get at least 1 mill by the end of the year, you 100% deserve it and more

[@arieslofi]

we watched night and fog in school when i was in 10th grade i think, and it shook me to my core. i'm jewish, sfardic to be specific, and it made me feel so hollow. i felt singled out in the room because afaik i was one of, if not the, only jews there. it's definitely a very important movie though and i'm glad i watched it, even though it was a pretty upsetting experience

[@ZelcherProductions]

Wow 10th grade, I watched Night and Fog my second year of college and I still wasn't prepared for what i saw. A hard watch but def important.

[@XSlimSxadyX]

Jesus Christ man. Jesus Christ. Why would they show that to a class of children. They can be so cruel..

[@michaelwood368]

The Act of Killing is one of my top 10 all time favourite films, it's an absolute stroke of genius. Film historians hundreds of years from now will still be watching it.

[@Huntergirlsp]

Great video! Small request for next time you do a list video: could you put the names in the description? Thanks!!

[@ZelcherProductions]

Actually I was suppose to list the films with time codes but completely forgot to do that until I saw this comment lol thanks for the reminder

[@drew9719]

‘The look of silence’ is haunting

[@_narci149_4]

"Fair warning, you might cry" Jokes on you, I always cry!

[@_narci149_4]

All jokes aside, these are all great recommendations. I can't wait to get into them whenever I get the chance

[@dennynikaj]

Thanks for the list.

[@19crash78]

The philosophy of a knife about unit 731 in Harbin, China during WW2.

[@bartman7181]

5 Very Underrated Documentaries: Dawson City, Frozen Time The Power of Nightmares Unforgiveable Blackness The Great White Silence The Mystery of Picasso My holy grail is to see the complete version of Helen Keller in Her Story, a 1954 Oscar winning documentary which is partially lost.

[@Hi-zh6ss]

I feel like this video will give me the motivation to watch certain documentaries I've been meaning to watch for a while now (I really want to get around to seeing The Corporation). Out of the ones you've mentioned, the only ones I've seen are Dear Zachary and Blackfish.

[@karaoconnoraliasraidra]

I read that Titicut Follies includes a forced-nose feeding of an inmate on a hunger strike.

[@ZelcherProductions]

It does, i was actually going to use that scene as the preview clip for the end of that segment but i figured it was a little too graphic and YT would get on my ass about it. But yea that scene was hard to watch.

[@karaoconnoraliasraidra]

@@ZelcherProductions I think you made the right call because the clip you used was disturbing without being graphic.

[@rkiv9208]

High on Crack street. Circa 1992. About drug addicts in Lowel Mass. One of my favs.

[@zeroandzero1169]

If you havent already, check out 'The pain of others' and 'Watching the pain of others'!

[@miggy4896]

You always deliver banger videos!!!

[@jedisquidward]

I really appreciate the deliberate editing similarities to YMS' Best Films videos. I think it may be the best way to actually show these films and create interest in them.

[@Ozymandias067]

Great video just keep it up. And greetings from Serbia

[@fatmonke1441]

I remebered a couple yeara ago I saw that they were passing black fish on tv, and it scares the shit out of me. Last year on september I saw it completly and I recommend it to everybody, it gave me an eerie feeling that took days to take off

[@rockerj881]

I had to watch The Titicut Follies in a criminal justice class in college and I had to leave the room when they fed an inmate through the nose

[@NikkyM.]

I've seen many docs but this was the one that I could not unsee or forget easily Bruce Lee and the Outlaw 2018

[@NostalgicNickyNYC]

Check out this documentary Prophets Prey. Really fucking disturbing shit about Warren Jeffs the Prophet of the FLDS. sick shit.

[@tedstapleton5561]

Aye Zelcher!

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

I have a mental image of having seen Dear Zachary but I can’t remember anything about it. Like I remember the grandparents sitting there for the interview but nothing else. Good enough to go in blind again?

[@Huntergirlsp]

Yes definitely. Don’t research beforehand

[@marymitchell6257]

My recs: Streetwise - both heartwarming and horrifying doc about street kids in Seattle The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On - Japanese doc about former Imperial Army soldier trying to get answers about what happened to men in his unit Into the Abyss - Herzog doc about a man on death row & the related crime Harlan County USA - less “disturbing” maybe, but about a coal miners strike in the 70s - shocking to see people living in poverty attacked for striking for basic necessities. Maybe a good one to pair w The Corporation

[@TriniGamerGirl7]

Aww yiss, time to check out all of these. I'm also a Mista GG fan. 😍

[@Roque023]

great video!

[@diogenes3949]

I watched Night And Fog for my freshman high school history class. It was hard to get through.

[@graciepeanutpi7537]

Tickled is absolutely wild.

[@nifty3000]

I personally recommend sponge bob square pants while high on 8mg of methamphetamine.

[@cambellfan22]

i've seen titicut follies in a psychlogy of film class and it was interesting yet shocking although i was not that disturb by it, but on hbo their was a doc that talks about how russia is doing their purging of the lgbtq+ that after watching it just made me feel sick

[@minimac9093]

Hi Zelcher. 😁

[@helkiesdust3812]

The documentaries I Am Evidence and The Invisible War are some very, very good and quite hard to watch examinations of rape victims---in The Invisible War's case, rape in the military specifically. Invisible War is one of Kirby Dick's films, who makes a lot of very good documentaries so I'd recommend checking out any of his work you can find.

[@God-nv5ty]

You should check out Standard Operating Procedure, its a documentary about the Abu Ghraib Prison tortures in Iraq by the US army, very messed up

[@ZelcherProductions]

How can I refuse a film recommendation from GOD himself

[@veryoddnaw]

7:09 when it comes to the bridge I think it isn’t exploitation. This documentary shows you the objective reality of suicide and how it effects people, this isn’t a film that is using false information or footage that they paint their own picture with like say for instance the autism speaks documentaries that were made around the mid 2000’s or even something like Beware the Slenderman by HBO.

[@dolly8596]

I had to skip over the small mention over Dear Zachary. I'll never forget the heartbreak i felt while watching it. I dont think anything has effected me the wat Dear Zachary has. Rest in peace to the victims.

[@1SpicyMeataball]

Some pick me up docs after watching these: The Best Worst Movie Dealt Obit Helvetica

[@Nerdtendo6366]

Me, a 15 year old: “Hell yeah I’ll watch these!”

[@iain2080]

Honestly if someone makes it through "Dear Zachary" without crying there's something wrong with them

[@linaboo24]

Blackfish is the reason I am afraid of whales

[@kaitlin9288]

I feel like you may have seen it already, but in general I'd recommend The Atomic Cafe from 1982. It's comprised entirely of archival footage and presented without narration (though not in an entirely linear structure). It's basically an exploration of propaganda and government misinfo aimed at shaping the narrative around the dawn of the nuclear age, and it's very fascinating in its presentation and how far government systems went to hide the facts from people. Would definitely check out if you haven't seen it already!

[@geashd777]

The Corporation is insanely eye-opening, i haven't really viewed the world the same way since i first watched it.

[@JustinHappenstance]

The Cove

[@GardenBoat]

I grew up in a borderline Jesus Camp environment:)

[@Birdmaster11]

god youtuber ❤️

[@MishKoz]

11:12 *Good.*

[@ZelcherProductions]

Lol

[@SonicTheHedgehogCommentaries]

E

[@santana8022]

LMAO Holocaust Documentaries

[@michal31131]

So edgy